General Commissioners (Jurisdiction and Procedure) Regulations 1994
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1994/1812 |
| Year | 1994 |
1994 No. 1812
INCOME TAX
The General Commissioners (Jurisdiction and Procedure) Regulations 1994
Made 6th July 1994
Laid before Parliament 14th July 1994
Coming into force 1st September 1994
The Lord Chancellor, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 46A and 56B of the Taxes Management Act 19701, after consultation with the Council on Tribunals in accordance with section 8 of the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 19922and with the consent of the Lord Advocate, hereby makes the following Regulations:
PART I
INTRODUCTORY
Citation, commencement and application
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the General Commissioners (Jurisdiction and Procedure) Regulations 1994 and shall come into force on 1st September 1994.
(2) These Regulations do not apply in relation to—
(a)
(a) any proceedings in respect of which notice of the place, date and time of the hearing was given or, in the case of more than one such notice, first given by the Clerk prior to 1st September 1994, and in respect of which an election is made by any party to the proceedings, by notice served on the Clerk, that these Regulations shall not apply, or
(b)
(b) any proceedings under section 100C of the Taxes Management Act 19703in respect of which a summons was issued prior to 1st September 1994 by the General Commissioners to the defendant (or, in Scotland, the defender) to appear before them at a time and place stated in the summons.
(3) Where these Regulations apply in relation to any proceedings in respect of which notice of the place, date and time of the hearing was given or, as the case may be, first given by the Clerk prior to 1st September 1994, anything done in relation to those proceedings prior to that date which, if the proceedings had been brought before the General Commissioners on or after that date, could have been done pursuant to these Regulations, shall have effect as if done pursuant to these Regulations.
(4) An election under paragraph (2)(a) above shall be made prior to the time of commencement of the hearing of the proceedings in question or, in the case of a hearing which commenced before 1st September 1994 but which was adjourned, prior to the time of commencement of the first continuation of the hearing on or after that date, and shall be irrevocable.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations unless the context otherwise requires—
“the Board” means the Commissioners of Inland Revenue;
“the Clerk”, in relation to any proceedings, means the Clerk to the General Commissioners;
“division” shall be construed in accordance with section 2(1) of the Management Act4;
“final determination” means the decision finally determining any proceedings before a Tribunal;
“General Commissioners” shall be construed in accordance with section 2(1) of the Management Act, and “the General Commissioners”, in relation to any proceedings, means the General Commissioners for a division before whom the proceedings are brought (and references to a General Commissioner are to be read accordingly);
“inspector” means an inspector of taxes;
“the Management Act” means the Taxes Management Act 19705;
“party” means a party to any proceedings, and for the purposes of these Regulations—
(a) where the proceedings relate to an assessment, decision or determination made by the Board, the Board and any inspector or other officer of the Board for the time being concerned with the proceedings shall together constitute a party to those proceedings;
(b) where the proceedings relate to an assessment, decision or determination made by an inspector or other officer of the Board, that person and any other inspector or other officer of the Board for the time being concerned with the proceedings shall together constitute a party to those proceedings;
and references to “the Revenue” are references to a party within paragraph (a) or, as the case may be, paragraph (b) above
“proceedings” means—
(a) any appeal to the General Commissioners under the Taxes Acts;
(b) any proceedings before the General Commissioners which under the Taxes Acts are to be heard and determined in the same way as such an appeal;
(c) any proceedings before the General Commissioners which relate to a penalty and are not within paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) above;
“proceedings in Northern Ireland” means any proceedings (as defined in this regulation) which fall within the meaning of that expression as defined in section 58(3) of the Management Act6;
“proceedings in Scotland” means any proceedings (as defined in this regulation) which fall to be determined by reference to the law of Scotland;
“Special Commissioners” shall be construed in accordance with section 4(1) of the Management Act7;
“the Taxes Acts” has the meaning given by section 118(1) of the Management Act8;
“Tribunal”, in relation to any proceedings, means, subject to regulation 11(3), two or more, but not more than five, General Commissioners for a division before whom the proceedings are brought.
PART II
PREPARATION FOR A HEARING
Listing and notice of hearing
3.—(1) Except in relation to proceedings under section 100C of the Management Act, any party to proceedings which are to be heard by the General Commissioners may serve notice on the Clerk that he wishes a date for the hearing to be fixed.
(2) On receipt of a notice under paragraph (1) above the Clerk shall send notice to each party of the place, date and time of the hearing.
(3) Unless the parties otherwise agree or a Tribunal otherwise directs, the date of the hearing specified in a notice under paragraph (2) above shall be not earlier than twenty eight days after the date on which the notice is sent to the parties.
Summoning of witnesses
4.—(1) Where a party to any proceedings requires the attendance of a person at the hearing of those proceedings to give evidence or to produce any document in his possession, custody or power relevant to the subject matter of the proceedings, a General Commissioner may, on the application of that party, issue a summons (in this regulation referred to as a “witness summons”) requiring the attendance of that person at the hearing, or the production of the document, wherever that person may be in the United Kingdom.
(2) A witness summons issued under paragraph (1) above shall state the name and address of, or otherwise describe, the person to be served and shall be signed by the General Commissioner issuing it, and it shall be the responsibility of the party on whose application the summons was issued to serve it on that person.
(3) Service of a witness summons under this regulation shall be effected—
(a)
(a) in the case of an individual, by leaving a copy of the summons with him;
(b)
(b) in the case of a body corporate registered in the United Kingdom, by leaving a copy of the summons with the secretary or clerk of the body corporate;
(c)
(c) in the case of a foreign body corporate with a place of business in the United Kingdom, by leaving a copy of the summons with a person authorised to accept service of process on the body corporate.
(4) A person who in obedience to a witness summons attends the hearing of any proceedings and gives evidence—
(a)
(a) is a witness of the party on whose application the summons was issued, and
(b)
(b) may not be cross-examined by that party without the leave of the Tribunal hearing the proceedings.
(5) Leave shall not be given by a Tribunal under paragraph (4)(b) above unless the Tribunal decides that the witness may be treated as a hostile witness.
(6) No person shall be required to attend in obedience to a witness summons unless it has been served on him at least seven days before the hearing or, if it has been served on him within that period, he has informed the Clerk that he accepts such service.
(7) No person shall be required to attend and give evidence or to produce any document in obedience to a witness summons unless the party serving the summons either—
(a)
(a) pays or tenders to that person, at the time when the summons is served on him, a sum sufficient to cover his reasonable expenses of travelling to and from, and his attendance at, the hearing, or
(b)
(b) has agreed with that person prior to service of the summons, to pay such a sum to him at a different time.
(8) No person shall be compelled in obedience to a witness summons to give any evidence or produce any document that he could not be compelled to give or produce in an action in a court of law in that part of the United Kingdom by reference to the law of which the proceedings are to be determined.
(9) No person who has been appointed as an auditor for the purposes of any enactment or who is a tax adviser within the meaning of section 20B(10) of the Management Act9shall be compelled in obedience to a witness summons to produce any document if, having regard to section 20B(9) to (13) of that Act, he would not be obliged to deliver or make available that document in response to a notice under section 20(3) or (8A)9of that Act.
(10) Where, in the case of any document, a person could under section 20B(14)9of that Act comply with such a notice by delivering a copy of parts of the document and making those parts available for inspection, he shall not be compelled in obedience to a witness summons to do more at the hearing than—
(a)
(a) produce a photographic or other facsimile copy of those parts of the document, and
(b)
(b) make those parts of the document available for inspection by the Tribunal.
(11) On the application, by notice served on the Clerk, of a person on whom a witness summons has been served, a General Commissioner may set aside the summons in whole or in part; and the party on whose application the summons was issued shall be entitled to be heard on such an application.
(12) Subject to paragraphs (6) to (11)...
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